Moonlit Paths
by saphire butterfly
Summary: What if when Itachi left the village he took Sakura with him? What if she didn't die like he expected her to? What if she came to the Akatsuki with him? What if? Well, read to find out. Rating is mostly for any gorey areas. Title may change.
1. Chapter 1

He had done it. He had finally done it. After careful planning with the Hokage, he had finally done. He walked down the street with a blank face. His hair was as long as ever-reaching mid back-and tied in its customary loose ponytail at the nape of his neck. He was wearing his ANBU uniform, sans the mask. Though, it was soiled with blood. As was his sword. And his hands. He looked at said hands as he continued walking down the moonlit street. They were smeared with blood that he had already rubbed on his pants to try and rid him of the blood, he had given up. He dropped his hands back down to his sides and continued walking, not looking up, even as he entered the near empty Hokage tower. He walked listlessly up the stairs and entered the Hokage's room without knocking, he was a little to depraved at the moment to have any manners showing his respect for the old man behind the door. He walked to the desk and sat in front of it in the only chair available, waiting for the old man to speak.

"Have you done it?" The old man, Sarutobi, The Third Hokage, asked. "Are they all dead?" He sat there for a moment, silent. He stared blankly at his hands, for once not paying attention to anything. He was simply too weary for it, too weary and he felt so old, older than a thirteen year old boy should. Finally he looked up into the old mans eyes, his eyes void of all emotion, of all life, the look made the old man shiver.

"All but one. I could not kill my brother. I know his mind has not been poisoned, my father only focused on me." His voice was dead, monotone. Like his eyes. Sarutobi shivered, almost regretting making the child take on this mission. But it had to be done, exactly like what he was about to do.

"That doesn't matter, someone else could have. He must be eliminated." The boys eyes turned cold, hateful. The Hokage was glad to see some emotion on his face, but almost immediately wished that he was once again cold. "As must you." He managed to keep a steady voice. But he was terrified as the boy stood. He may be strong, but he had a feeling this young boy could kill him if he truly wanted to.

"You will not touch Sasuke. If you do, I will tell every enemy country this villages weaknesses. I will leave, if that is what you wish. I will never return. Is that your wish, Hokage-sama?" The Hokage was immensely proud of himself for managing to keep a steady look into the boys red eyes, his blood line spinning wildly in the young boys anger.

"Yes. I will allow you to leave." He let out a nearly silent breath of relief as the boy turned around and left through the doors in which he had entered through. Another ANBU, much older than the one that had left, entered the room. His silver hair glinted in the moonlight as he knelt before the old man.

"Do you wish for my team to continue with our mission?" The Hokage glanced down at him before returning his stare to the doors, still frightened by the boys mere presence, scared of what would happen should tonight's mission by this team fail. He shuddered at the thought before returning his gaze to the kneeling man.

"Yes, Hatake, complete your mission. Eliminate Itachi Uchiha." The silver haired man nodded before disappearing in a cloud of smoke. The old man leaned forward and rested his wrinkled head on his folded his hands and spoke to the empty room. "And don't fail, for I fear the consequences would be far greater than any of us could imagine."

* * *

He was walking down the moonlit road again, this time towards the North Gates, it was time for him to leave. He didn't truly believe the Hokage was going to let him leave, he may still be in shock-for that is what he recognized this odd state he was in to be-but he was still aware of everything. He could feel Hatake's team preparing to come after him. They wouldn't capture him, he would be gone before they were even ready for him, he would make sure of that.

He continued walking, passing by the park in front of Ninja Academy that he once attended, the one his brother was still attending. He almost didn't notice, he almost continued walking, completely unaware. But being who he was, he noticed. It was a soft sniffling from behind a tree. He contemplated ignoring it, but he decided he had done enough bad that night. This would never atone for his sins, but maybe this would make him feel better. He silently walked around the tree to be faced with a curious sight.

A young girl, about the age of his brother-maybe seven or eight-was sitting on the ground. Her short pink hair was ruffled and pointed in every direction. Her knees were pulled up to her chest with her skinny arms holding them in place. Her shirt was black and long sleeved, to big for her. It was dirty and had a few tears in it. Her loose black pants were in the same condition. As he looked closer he noticed the girls arms were littered with cuts, bruises, and smudges of dirt, the little bit of leg he saw were exactly the same.

He kneeled down in front of the girl who immediately looked up. Her eyes were nearly dead, only a little bit of that child hope left. She looked into his eyes with a child innocence and merely held his gaze. There were no tears to accompany the many scrapes and dark bruises on her face. He looked back into her eyes, holding the gaze with her. Neither spoke.

Finally the little girl unraveled her little arms and shifted until she was also sitting on her legs. She looked back up to hold the gaze with him once again. He tilted his head curiously as she seemed to want to say something. She cleared her throat a little.

"Mister," her voice was cracked and it sounded as if she had been screaming for days. She took a deep breath and rubbed her most likely sore throat, a slight green glow surronding her hand that made the young boy raise a brow. "Mister, will you take me with you? Daddy killed Mommy then he attacked me. He didn't kill me like Mommy, cause I'm fast, but now I'm tired and hurt." The boy looked at her curiously, feeling a foreign emotion-something like sympathy-for the little girl before shaking his head.

"No." His voice was still lifeless, but the girl didn't seem to notice. She merely tilted her head, waiting for the answer. "You will stay here. You will be much safer." She shook her head, even before he was done talking.

"No, Daddy doesn't like me, he tells me that every day, ever since I could remember. The others don't like me neither, cause of my pink hair. They say I'm weird and they always hurt me. No one wants me. I will die here." The boy was surprised, though he didn't show it. The girl, though a little to innocent, was incredibly intelligent. He actually contemplated taking her with him. "Please, Mister." Then she looked up at him, more life in her emerald eyes. They were full of hope and innocence.

Maybe it was selfish. Maybe he truly was the evil monster he and a few others believed him to be. Or maybe he felt that because he had no hope, he needed someone that did. Whatever it was, it didn't matter. For the boy stood up and nodded his head, making the girl stand also. He leaned down and held the little girl in his bloody arms. He fleetingly thought about the blood that would most likely stain her clothes, but the thoughts quickly left him. The girl was small enough to fit in one arm, she was small and frail. He didn't think she would survive long. He was sure she was going to die within the first week of being with him. But he couldn't deny the little girl, so he took her with him. Going to the gates slightly faster now, Hatakes team were finally after him, the little girl looked up at him, her eyes drooping with sleep.

"Mister, what's your name?" He didn't feel like talking, but she was looking at him again, those clear green eyes staring up at him. He gave a gentle sigh before answering her.

"Itachi, Itachi Uchiha." She nodded sleepily, snuggling further into his arm. Her back rested against his upper arm, her rear in the crook of his arm, and her little legs stretched along his forearm. Her bare feet were resting in his hand. She truly was tiny. He waited for her to give her name, common courtesy. But when it was clear she wasn't going to give it without a little prodding he voiced his question. "And yours?"

"Hmm? Oh, I'm Sakura, Sakura Haruno." And she finally fell asleep. He thought about reawakening her, but decided against it. There was no point. So he wrapped the arm that wasn't holding her around her slight frame in an attempt to keep her warm. He was out the gates and running as fast as he could, he had to take care of this little girl now, he had to at least try to get her away from the village she obviously had no wish to be in. So he continued on, in the moonlit forest.

* * *

**A/N: Ok, this is a new idea I'm trying. I hope you like it. I think this one will be better than my other ItaSaku stories. Anyways, I would appreciate any comments or criticism you may have. Thank you.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters.**


	2. Chapter 2

She didn't die. She was surprisingly helpful. When he had narrowly got them from danger, injuring himself in the process, she had stayed quiet and still until they were gone and then healed all of his wounds. When he asked of her healing abilities and who taught them to her, she had smiled-a fake one-and replied with 'When people only hurt you, you learn to protect yourself and to keep yourself alive, since no one else will.' He hadn't asked her about it again, not liking the look on her face. They had continued on. Where, he wasn't sure. He didn't really have a place in mind. He simply traveled, village to village, making sure Sakura was fed and had clean clothes. He always carried her, the same position he had adapted that night they left, an arm always free. She was a silent child, a trait he was immensely happy about-or as happy as he could get.

They traveled for weeks like this. He opened up a little more to her every day after that initial week. He had eventually told her why he had left the village. She never judged him. She was…he didn't know the word to describe her. She had told him a little of her life in Konoha, he was still baffled as to how she had retained her innocence, even while knowing the darkest side of human nature. But he was…glad. Yes, glad. He hadn't experienced these feelings before, happiness and surprise-and many things of the sort-, but he was glad. She was special and he didn't plan on letting her ever get hurt. He knew it was impossible, but he still planned on trying.

He had learned a lot about her too. For example, she was seven years old, six years younger that himself. Her favorite food was dango and ramen. She disliked people trying to control her. Her favorite color was grey-she had yet to tell me the reason why-and loved humming-her voice was always a little off tune but beautiful nonetheless.

So whenever he bought clothes, he made sure to always get her something grey. And white, she said white was a nice color, a color she wished there was more of in this dark world. And I couldn't help it sometimes, I wanted to brighten her up, that, and I had the little-big-addiction to spoiling her. I also made sure to buy her dango. We both loved it, so I used the excuse-only to myself, I didn't need to explain my actions to anyone else-that since I loved it I might as well get her some too. I never told her what to do, only asked. Also, while we traveled, I trained her a little. With her meager self training, she was a good student that I didn't have to begin at the very beginning with.

We traveled in this pattern for a long time. I believe it was thirteen weeks-unlucky number-when they approached us. I had hid Sakura under a tree, making sure they wouldn't notice her. I would need both arms if they planned to attack. A pale man-unbelievably pale, almost white-entered the clearing. He had black hair and golden eyes, eyes full of cruelty and maliciousness. He had purple lines over his eyes. He wore no shirt and tight pants. His cloak was open over his chest, attempting to show something off. What that was, I would never know, all I saw was a pale chest with no hair. I didn't trust him-not like I trusted anyone but my Sakura.

The other man was tall. And blue. Well, pale blue. And he had gills. His _hair_ was blue. He was probably three times taller than me. I may be tall for my age, but he was older and probably had something wrong with him, but still…he was tall. He wore a black shirt and fishnet sleeves. He wore loose black pants. His cloak was done up as it was suppose to be worn, the collar not done up though. At least he didn't look like a whore. He had a large, wrapped up sword strapped to his back, same way as mine. Their cloaks were black with red clouds outlined in white. Akatsuki.

"Itachi Uchiha. Uchiha Clan killer. Youngest ANBU. Thirteen years old. Has mangekyo. How are you? I'm Orochimaru." I glared at the man whore. I didn't deem him worthy to answer.

"Hey, I'm Kisame. You look tired. Do you want to come with us?" I raised a mental brow. They didn't seriously think I would fall for that, would they? Even if I wasn't a genius, as a child I knew that going anywhere with the man whore would be a bad idea. I glared at said man whore before turning my blank stare back to shark man-I refused to call him Kisame. He chuckled lightly before talking again.

"Ok ok, I get it. You don't trust us. But if your interested, come to Rain. We'll give you a place to live. It's not home, but it's probably as close as you'll get. You're good, we could use you." I gave a slight nod, signaling that I understood. He nodded back before motioning for the man whore to go. Once he was gone and out of sight, he stepped towards me and crouched down on his heels to be eye level with me.

"Your little girl, the pink haired one," I stiffened, ready to kill the man if he said one word against her. "Chill kid, I'm not gonna hurt her, or you. Just sayin, she can come too if you want. She obviously can't join, but she could stay with you, if you want." I glared at him, giving a quick nod and he was off. I waited for a moment, waiting until he was gone before walking over to the tree. I pulled Sakura out and held her.

She looked curious but otherwise let me do as I wished. I held her closer to me, my nose burrowed in the crook of her neck and shoulder. I nuzzled slightly and took a deep breath, almost as if I was trying to rememorize her scent-as if I hadn't already. One arm was wrapped around her shoulders as the other one wrapped around her thighs, holding her up. Her legs nearly reached my hips, she was still to short for them to reach. She was so frail, and weak compared to the people in Akatsuki. For the first time in my life I was afraid, afraid of what could happen to her. I knew I should leave her, cut my ties. I knew I should kill her, but I couldn't. I had become attached to her, I knew I could never leave her. I should, but I couldn't. We stood there for what felt like years, my nose buried in her neck and her dangling from my arms.

I did finally let her go, sort of. I held her in that position I had used ever since we left Konoha and walked in the opposite direction as the two Akatsuki members. Sakura gave me a curious look, that for once, I ignored. I knew what she was going to ask, but I didn't want to hear it. She didn't know how much of a risk she would be in if we went. So I walked on, refusing to look in her eyes, knowing I would break if I did.

* * *

I broke by the end of the week. She had sat on my lap and gave me _that_ look. I couldn't describe, I just knew that I would do anything she asked because of that face, a face no one would be able to refuse. So by the end of that day I had everything ready-as I usually do-and I was walking with Sakura asleep in my arm. I walked through the moonlit forest in silence. I didn't think, just like that night. I simply listened to Sakura's soft breathing as she slept.

By morning, Sakura had risen with the sun. We were just crossing the Rain border, I made sure that I traveled fast enough to get us here by morning. Sakura looked around us as it began to rain. She smiled, one of the first times I had seen her smile without looking at me. I know I should be glad, and I was, but I was jealous. Something else did. Yes, it was childish, but around her I just couldn't help myself. So I let her down against my 'better judgment'. she ran out and spun around in circles, her arms flung out. She was staring straight up, probably hurting her eyes. She was smiling. And even though I was jealous, I smiled because she was happy. I quickly wiped my face of emotions as I felt someone approaching. I shot over to Sakura and pulled her up into my arms. I had my arms wrapped tightly around her. Her chest was pressed to mine and her legs were once again dangling. A moment later and shark man jumped from the trees to land in front of us.

"Hey, for a while there, I didn't think you were gonna come. What made you come anyways?" I glanced down to the little girl I was holding in my arms, the one that had somehow wiggled her head up and was staring at me. "Aa, I see. So what's pinky's name?" I set her down at her silent command and she turned to the man, who had crouched down and was sitting cross legged. Somehow, his sword wasn't bothering him, which I think is a miracle and a wonder. I watched Sakura walk forward, my hands inching towards my kunai pouch incase the man decided to attack.

"Hello mister, my name is Sakura Haruno. Who are you?" I gave a mental smile. She had manners, and she was so sweet. The man smiled and reached out a hand and ruffled her hair, smiling the entire time. I relaxed slightly, retreating my hand from inside the kunai pouch. I about killed the man when he moved.

"Well aren't you just the sweetest little thing? Why did you want Uchiha to come here?" He was still smiling, awaiting her answer. I also looked at her. Why did she want me to come here? She gave a sweet smile and ran over to me. She grabbed my hand with her two much smaller ones. I had to lean down a little, she was so short.

"Because, even though Itachi may not want to, and even though he might regret joining at some point in time, and even though he is worried of what might happen to us, he would regret it more if he didn't. Living on your own is hard. You have to find your own food and at night when it is dark and your afraid and alone, you want to end it all. But you can't. I don't want Itachi living like that, he deserves to live with people who will care for him, even if that is only you, Kisame-san." She smiled at him before looking back at me. She gave me the purest, most angelic smile I had ever seen. I couldn't help but smile back. She was looking out for me. It hurt me to know about her past, to know that this sweet thing had wanted to kill herself many times, but she knew better. She might be younger, but she had had hardships of her own. So I decided that I would take her advice and join the Akatsuki. She was right after all, I would regret it more if I lived out there alone, always afraid one of us would die. I looked up at Kisame, I decided he deserved his name if Sakura thought he did.

He was looking at Sakura in awe. Of course, he didn't know what she had been through. He must think she is amazing. And messed up. He was probably asking himself, 'what kind of kid can go through something like that and still be this sweet?'. But he doesn't see what I see. Even though she's been getting more life in her eyes, you can still see the pain she can't hide. Behind all of her happiness and sweetness is her soul, the soul which is almost dead, not really fighting for life anymore. I try, but she has her moments were I can't get her to look at anything with her childish innocence. And it hurts, it tears me up inside. It confuses me, I've never felt this way before. Sure, when I was killing my family it hurt, but not this bad. I shook my thoughts away as Kisame began speaking.

"Oh, well ok. I guess. Pretty deep stuff there pinky." She gave him a curious look, one that he didn't seem to notice. "Well, let's go. Leader-sama is waiting." Sakura gave him another curious look, one that I was replicating in my mind. Leader-sama? What was his name? Kisame stood and dusted himself off as I picked up Sakura in the usual way and followed him as he walked off.

As we were walking, Sakura wiggled in my arms until she had her arms wrapped around my neck and her mouth by my ear. I turned my head slightly, curious as to what she was doing.

"Itachi, why did he call me pinky?" I looked at her curiously as I wound an arm around her back, we were jumping through the trees now and I didn't want her to fall. what does she mean? He called her that out of aff-oh. That's why. No one had ever given her a nickname. She had only received hateful names. The poor thing. I turned my head so my mouth was now by her ear.

"It's a nickname. A name given to someone out of affection." I pulled back a little to see her expression. Her eyes were aglow. She was smiling and her aura, which I had never believed to exist until I met her, radiated pure happiness. I smiled back in affection, she was so cute. Suddenly, she frowned and leaned back up to my ear, which I moved so that she could whisper again.

"Why don't you give me a nickname?" I was confused for a moment, then nervous. She wanted me to nickname her? She was giving me that hopeful look and I couldn't help but to comply with her wishes. I thought for a moment before leaning over to her ear.

"How is My Little Blossom?" I know, not creative, and pretty sappy. If she had had friends I'm sure that's what they would have called her. But it's true, she is my little blossom. She didn't seem to care though, she just seemed happy to have a nickname, something that showed my affection for her. I smiled in return. I leaned back down to her ear. "And what of my nickname, little blossom?" She smiled at my use of her nickname before her face scrunched up in concentration. I smiled and was tempted to poke or kiss her nose, but I held back.

"Ah-ha!! Weasel-kun!" I raised a brow. It looked as if we were both uncreative. She quickly looked at Kisame, before looking back at me with a giant smile. I smiled back at her as I settled her back down in my arms.

"Time to sleep, little blossom. It's been a long day for you. I'll wake you up when we get there." I smiled down at her as she nodded sleepily. Where the sudden sleepiness came from I will never know, but I was thankful. I didn't want her to be awake when we got there, something might happen and it will get ugly. I kept my thoughts from my face though as I smiled down to Sakura. Even through her sleepiness I could see her worry for me. I increased my smile as I stroked her hair. She smiled up at me before snuggling deeper in my arm and closing her eyes.

"Night Weasel-kun…" And she was asleep. I gave her one more look before looking back up at the path. I put my cold mask back in place as I continued following Kisame through the forest.

* * *

**A/N: Ok, I hope everyone enjoyed!!**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters.**


	3. Chapter 3

Those first few weeks after arriving at the Akatsuki base were tense. The members were uncomfortable with me almost as much as I was of them. When I met with the leader I had reluctantly handed Sakura over to Kisame. I was hard pressed not to, but Sakura had smiled and told me to go, that she would be fine. I was uncomfortable with the leader, but he didn't seem truly as malicious as the others, he had the thirst for the kill, but he didn't care so much for revenges or torture unless it was necessary. So he was better than the others.

There were ten members including myself. Kisame, Orochimaru, Zetzu, Kakazu, Sasori, Deidara, Hidan, Leader-sama(I was told to call him that, his name was actually Pein), Konan, and finally me.

Kisame was the one I trusted most of the members. He wasn't malicious, though I realized he had quite a bit of blood thirst on missions. His sword was the Samahada, it sucked the chakra out of its victims, it wasn't meant to cut them like a normal sword. And surprisingly, he was incredibly fast, even with his height. I usually let him go for the kill, but I did sometimes go. I was never in the mood to kill, I never had been, I had simply killed when told.

Orochimaru was a creep. I trusted him the least. He always gave me weird looks, as if he wanted my body-yes, creepy, I know. He gave Sakura perverted looks, looks that made me want to rip off his favorite appendage and shove it down his throat. He was into snakes. I only went on two missions with him and he never showed his true abilities, just summoning a large snake.

Zetzu was…interesting. He was an oversized plant with a split personality. I nearly had a heart attack when he picked up Sakura. He simply held her as she crawled all over him, playing with the fly trap parts that reached over his head. I didn't trust him, but Sakura seemed okay with him, so I let him hold her if I was within watching distance. He was our spy, and he was good.

Kakazu was obsessed with money, Konan had an obsession with origami, and Leader-sama had an obsession with piercing. I didn't know much about them. I had never actually met Konan, she was at my initiation. I met Kakazu when I was getting money to buy groceries for the Akatsuki-he had grumbled the entire time. And the only times I had met Leader-sama was that first night and my initiation.

Sasori was the puppet master, he himself was a puppet. He was weird, talking of art as everlasting. He was stoic, like myself, but I trusted him for this, I had something to relate to. He was even teaching Sakura how to control a puppet with her chakra. And because of her amazing chakra control she was learning quickly.

Deidara was his partner. A little to hyper, and a little to angst. He was a stupid child. He was the only member truly my age-he was fifteen-, Sasori was about twenty, even though he looked our age. Deidara used clay to make bomb figurines. He had hands in his hands, stomach, and, obviously, on his face. He truly was annoying. Sakura didn't mind all the mouths, but she was annoyed with his attitude. So I attempted to keep her away from him-but I will admit that my reasons weren't so unselfish, he seemed to be overly interested in her, so I made sure to keep her away from him.

And finally Hidan. He had a cursing problem and I nearly killed him for cursing in front of Sakura. But she told me she was used to it, that bullies went away if you ignored them, and that I shouldn't get angry about it. He always tried to get a rise out of her, always told her he was going to sacrifice her to his god, Jashin-sama. But she would simply look at him before looking for me. I restrained myself from attacking to do as she wished, to simply ignore him. He finally came around and stopped bothering her, just as she said it would.

The pairs had been switched up because of me. I was now paired with Kisame. Deidara was still paired with Sasori. Kakazu was still paired with Hidan. Leader-sama was still paired with Konan, and Orochimaru was paired with Zetzu.

My first mission away was hard. I was terrified about Sakura the entire time, always worried about what would happen to her. But as the missions increased and every time I returned Sakura was okay, I started becoming less worried. I wasn't completely cured of my worry, but it was manageable now and I could forget about it when I needed to. Sakura was quickly becoming stronger with her training, almost all of the members trained her at least once, except for Orochimaru and Deidara. I made sure they never came near her, even when I was gone.

So my missions continued, always gruesome. Well, not always. Sometimes they were simple assassinations, sometimes they were to spy. It was only bad when we went to get information from a person-usually by means of torture-and when we went to retrieve something-usually meaning we killed every person guarding it then some. I would leave Sakura with Kisame if he wasn't on a mission with me, which he usually was. If he was, then I left her with Sasori with strict instructions for her not to be near or alone with Deidara or Orochimaru. I never got the chance to train with Sakura, whenever I got back I would eat and then sleep. When I awoke I would spend the day just sitting with her, usually reading or taking her into town to learn about buying things and what was best to buy and the quality, I would usually be on another mission the next day. It was nearly half a year when Sakura got sick.

* * *

"Ne, Itachi, why you goin' so fast, we can relax." I ignored, pushing us even faster. "Damn it Itachi, slow down! I can't go that fast!" I ignored him once again. I was pushing myself to hard, I knew this, but I had a bad feeling. I needed to get to Sakura. Something was wrong. I couldn't let anything happen to my angel, nothing could happen to her, I wouldn't allow it. I kept pushing us. Kisame had finally stopped complaining, simply following me. The silence went unbroken for an hour, I didn't speak until we were almost there.

"Something is wrong, with Sakura. I will not allow anything to harm her." He looked at me for a moment, I could feel his stare on my back, before I heard the slight movement of his head, signaling his nod. We were quiet once more. I immediately ran inside the base and up to Sakura's faint chakra, in her room. I could feel the others around her(the others being Sasori, Deidara, Konan, Zetzu, and Orochimaru). I burst through the door and marched to her bed, the others immediately began speaking up.

"Itachi, I don't know what happened. I was with Pein when Deidara came to me, yelling about Sakura. I came down, but I couldn't do anything." Her words made the fear and worry in my chest grow, not that it showed on my face.

"I'm not aware of what happened. I sent Deidara to get Konan, but as she said, there was nothing to be done." His words made the feelings grow more, and the concern I could hear in the red heads normally emotionless voice didn't help.

"I just did as I was told." I ignored the blonde, angry enough that he was near my Sakura, but that didn't matter to me right now. I kneeled beside her limp body on the bed as Zetzu began to speak.

"I am not aware of what is helpful in these situations, but I heard from an old woman a while back that ones with sickness have restless and troubled minds. They spoke of a tea that could settle the mind, I found this tea and poured it down Sakura's throat, she drank it willingly. I could not cure the sickness, but that seems to be passing right now." My head shot up to look at her face. Now that I looked closer, I could see that she was indeed breathing. I sighed in relief, making sure the others couldn't hear it. I scooted forward a little so that I was kneeling by her stomach.

"Thank you Zetzu. Now, leave. Everyone." I heard the shuffling of feet before the door closed. I sat there for a while, staring into her face and stroking her hair. I laid down beside her, continuing my stroking upon her cheek, and watched her chest rise and fall with her steady breaths.

It wasn't safe here. I couldn't keep her. She wouldn't get the proper health attention a young girl like her did. And she needed a female caretaker, not a bunch of S-class criminals. Konan did not count as a female caretaker, she was far to violent and much like the others here. I sighed, I didn't want to leave her. I looked back up to her face. It was paler than usual, I could hear the labor it was taking her to breath, although it didn't look like she was having trouble, and she lay limp. Not even a full year and she looked as if she had been stepping over the thresh hold of death's door before she was pulled back. As I laid there, I made my decision.

* * *

"Itachi," Sakura asked from her position in my arms. She was bigger now, I used the second arm to hold her in place. "where are we going?" I looked down at her. Yes, she was still small, even a little under weight because of that sickness(she had only gotten over it, it took her an entire month). But her eyes held more life in them, I knew my eyes still hadn't gained any. The little that I had gained disappeared when I made the decision to leave Sakura with someone else, someone who could take care of her.

"Patience my little one, you will see in time." She gave me a curious look before nodding and looking back at the path that I was flying and jumping along. I was nearly there. Luckily, the woman I was looking for was that far away, I could feel her chakra. Her and her companion were setting up camp. I sat outside there sensing range for a while, waiting until they were more relaxed. Finally, once the sun had been down for a few hours, I teleported to the center of their camp and proected Sakura's head against my chest, hiding her under my cloak so that she wouldn't be seen. The two woman stood up and eyed me wearily, a kunai in each hand. A third person came out, a boy only a few years older than Sakura, who looked at me with a curious gaze.

"Itachi Uchiha, what do you want?" The blonde woman said. I looked over to her, she had moved closer, in front of the camp. The dark haired woman had moved to stand in front of the white haired boy. I looked back to the blonde woman.

"Tsunade-sama, I require your help." She looked at me in shock for a moment, her grip on her weapons loosening for a moment before tightening her hold and her fighting position was more guarded.

"Why would I help you?!" She growled it out loudly, making Sakura shift a little. I glanced down briefly and tightened my hold on her. I looked back at Tsunade.

"Please, I only request that she does not go back to Konoha. Her reasons are her own, I ask you to respect them." She was still holding her weapons, but they were now hanging limply in her hands. I quickly yet carefully pulled Sakura's sleeping form from my cloak. The two woman gasped and the young boy walked forward.

I watched him warily, holding Sakura closer to myself. He came to stand in front of me. He held out his arms, expecting me to put her in his arms. I held her tighter to me.

"Sir, I'll take her for you." The little boy glanced from my face to Sakura to his outstretched arms and back again to my face. I held Sakura closer to me. She shifted a little and groaned, signs that she was to awaken soon. I looked into his face, silently demanding his name and who he is.

"My name is Kimmimaru. I have a lung disease, I am hear for my health." I nodded, still reluctant to give her up. He smiled up at me. I sighed and handed Sakura to him once she shifted again. He held her in his arms, one arm under her legs and the other under her shoulders. Her head was leaning against his chest. I glanced around the occupants of the camp once more before looking back down to her, in another's arms.

I can't believe how attached I had become to her, how overprotective, how jealous and angry I got at others around her. I closed my eyes once before opening them once more. I leaned down to her.

"I will always protect you, My Little Blossom." I whispered in her ear. I kissed her forehead, her eyelids, her cheeks and then a peck on her lips. After another glance at the others, I was gone. I had hesitated far to long, Leader-sama would be angry I was gone for longer than expected.

* * *

**A/N: Hey, hope you guys like this one. I know the beginning was a little slow, but I hope you like it anyways. Thank you for reading.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto or its characters.**


	4. Chapter 4

_Sakura Haruno_

_Origins: Unknown. Received when she was at the age of eight. We have reason to believe she is not a member of the Haruno clan, seeing as they are civilians with no kekkai genkai that we know of. She was given by Itachi Uchiha, Uchiha Clan murderer._

_Birth date: March 28_

_Age: 15yrs 3mon 1wk 5dys_

_Physical Description: Pink hair-approximately waist length. Green eyes-missing pupil. Pale skin-veins are visible on occasion. Approximately 5'3"._

_Mentality: Random bouts of nightmares. Split personality-she has confessed that she calls this alternate personality 'Inner Sakura'. Mild depression. Random bouts of violence._

_Training: Advanced in Genjutsu, Ninjutsu, and Taijutsu. Chunnin level Kenjutsu. Perfect ckakra control. Has had training from an unknown source on chakra strings. Has a few summonings. No training with her kekkai genkai. Immense amounts of stamina. Standard chakra levels. High pain tolerance. Nearly surpasses fifth Hokage, Tsunade._

I leaned back in my chair and rubbed my temples, squeezing my eyes shut. I eyes the bottle on the corner of my desk, the warm alcohol calling out to me. I glanced back down to the report on my table then back up to the bottle before sighing. As much as I hated these reports, they were needed, especially at the moment. I was recently made the fifth Hokage and I needed to make reports on my traveling companions since the village had none. I had already finished Shizune's, Kimimaro's, and Kabuto's. Sakura was the last report I had to do. And she was by far the most troubling person I had ever met, more so than the damn Kyubii boy.

I leaned back over the report, making sure everything was correct. I looked back up at the top, at her origins. Itachi Uchiha. Boy was that a terrifying man I had absolutely no wish to run into. Terribly strong and dangerous, no emotions or morals. And from the last that I had seen of him, which was seven years ago, he was infinitely protective of the girl. If he found out that I had brought Sakura to Konoha and sealed her memories, he would most likely kill me and every person in sight. But he hasn't been near Konoha since he left, he tends to stay far away.

I shook my head of the disturbing thoughts and grabbed the bottle, finally giving into temptation, and walked over to the window to watch the civilians and shinobi walking about. After a few moments, my door swung open and the number one knuckle head marched in, dragging behind him the pink haired girl I had grown to love as my daughter. The girl sighed and shrugged lightly giving me an apologetic smile as the blonde started yelling about the mission he was so desperate to go on. She gave him a curious look.

"Naruto, what are you talking about? We only got here recently, there is no mission we have to go on. So stop bothering Tsunade-sama and I'll treat you to some Ramen." He looked at her, seriously contemplating the offer. I silently begged he would take the offer and stop bothering me, he hasn't stopped for the entire time I've been Hokage.

But alas, he shook his head and turned back to face me, his eyes glinting with determination. And as angry as it made me, I knew I wouldn't rest until he got a mission. But not just any mission, some damn mission to retrieve his best friend and 'brother', Sasuke Uchiha. I sighed again. The only two Uchiha's alive and they both had to have the two strongest shinobi in this village attached to them in some sort of way. I had never met the boy, but if Sasuke was anything like his older brother, I would prefer that he just stayed away from the village, like his brother seemed to be doing.

The thought of the older Uchiha made me mentally groan, once more, there were rumors that he was coming to Konoha, that he was after something. In fact, there seemed to be quite a lot of people coming to Konoha recently. Nobody knew I was Hokage yet, and I wanted to keep it that way for a while. I had enemies, or soon to be enemies, that I wanted to avoid as long as possible. Especially the elder Uchiha.

"No, it's alright Sakura. He's right, I do need to start sending our shinobi on missions. I guess you two will be the first. I'm sorry I don't a hitae-ate for you, but you must take the exams in order to one. I'll arrange for you ANBU exams when you get back." She smiled lightly and gave a small, gentle nod. "your mission is to…damn, I really don't think you should, but you are to go to Sound and if you happen across Sasuke, you are to detain him and bring him back to Konoha, preferably alive. Your team will consist of the two of you, Rock Lee, Kimimaro, Kabuto, and Kakashi. Kakashi will be your team captain. You will leave in an hour. Inform your team of the details and then get out of my sight. My head is killing me." They both nodded and I watched them leave.

I looked back down to my desk and the report sitting on top of it. I looked to the picture of the pink haired, her smiling face looking up at me. I remembered getting this photo. Kabuto had only recently joined us. Sakura had run away as she was prone to do from time to time, Kimimaro with her. The boy had become attached to her, always telling me in private she was a beautiful flower, but she wasn't his, he never told me whose she was, but I already knew.

Anyways, when they got back, I forced them to let me take a picture of them. I had found out that the third Hokage was killed and I knew I was the only logical choice. And at the time, I knew that I would have to do a report on each one of them. I also knew I probably wouldn't get another chance like this. So I got my pictures, Sakura giving her bitter smile. She was always bitter after her little moments. I knew she didn't know that her memories were sealed, but she knew something wasn't right and that it had something to do with me, the person she loved like a mother.

Even now I was worried about her. I had one of the strongest mind seals on her, but I feared that her mind was sometimes stronger. She would sometimes say strange things, things about raven and blue haired men, about blonde men with too many mouths, of some Jashin-sama, or of evil fathers beating their young daughters. And I don't know how well the seal will hold up if she were to see Itachi.

Another reason this mission was good. The rumors were coming from the south and I sent Sakura and the others north to Sound. If Itachi was indeed coming here, then I wanted Sakura away. I knew they wouldn't come back until they found Sasuke and either beat him or were beat to near death. At least, Naruto and Kakashi wouldn't , the others would stay with them though.

I walked back over to the window to watch the village, sake bottle once more in hand, and watched the two teens jump along the roof tops to their partners. I sighed when they disappeared from sight and walked back to my desk. I had to start on the hospital files, looking over patients and staff. I eyed the pile of paper on the floor by my desk, it was stacked precariously and reached above my desk. I groaned and slammed my head against the table, making it crack slightly. I sat back up and took a large gulp of sake before getting to work.

* * *

I looked up as the last member of our makeshift team arrived, thirty minutes late. I glared, I was not a person that took kindly to waiting. He smiled sheepishly and started spouting something about walking a lady home. I glared harder as the blonde, Naruto, smiled and playfully hit the man on the arm. I glared harder and was tempted to hit the both of them. I stopped though, as Sakura held my wrist gently with her small hand, her fingers only reaching a little over half way around. I turned and looked down into her beautiful emerald eyes.

"Kimi-kun, ignore them. If we go now they will follow." I smiled and nodded, knowing she was right. Besides, who was I to deny her? I pulled her bag from my shoulder and shoved it into my bigger bag. I hoisted said bag onto my shoulder and exited the gates with her by my side. Kabuto walked on her right, her other side. The bushy browed child quickly caught up and walking in front of us, telling Sakura that he would protect her. I growled slightly before Sakura calmed me by holding my hand. The blonde started yelling at us while running, his teacher right behind him. They caught up and continued talking with green spandex boy.

We walked until night fall, even longer actually. Bushy Brows insisted that we could keep going, and I agreed. The others did too, for awhile, but then the blonde began complaining, meaning we were forced to stop to shut him up. I was mentally growling again as I set up the tents and the others worked in the other parts of our camp.

First we were forced to come to the village, Konoha. And of course, the dumb blonde woman agreed to become the Hokage. Doesn't she remember what the red eyed man had asked of her? Of course, she doesn't care. She loved this stupid village and therefore no longer cared for other peoples wishes. She even sealed Sakura's memories, of everything. She had the same personality, for the most part, but she wasn't the same Sakura that I met, the little girl who slowly opened up to us. How could Tsunade do that to her? How could she get rid of the little girl that we all loved so much? Her favorite color wasn't even grey anymore, it was orange. Orange! And she hated dango. I remember her always asking for dango when we ate before her memories were sealed. See! She wasn't the same little girl I knew.

I sighed, knowing I was being unfair. Tsunade still had a duty to this village, she could also take care of all of us better here. She had to seal Sakura's memories almost immediately because of the risk she may cause herself. She was depressed and being left by the red eyed man, Itachi, only made her worse. So I guess, in all logical reasoning, that it made sense that her memories were sealed. It doesn't mean I was happy about it.

I ate quietly with the members of our team before entering one of the two tents and rolled out three sleeping bags. I rolled them out side by side, all of the heads next to each other. I looked over my shoulder as Kabuto walked in. I gave a slight dip of my head before I got back to work of organizing the tent. He kneeled down beside me and we began talking in whispered voices.

"Are you sure it's okay for Sakura to be near the Uchiha?" I looked at him thoughtfully. I hadn't actually thought about it. I knew if Sakura saw Itachi it would be, as they say, game over. But what if Sakura saw the Sharingan? She hadn't seen Kakashi's so we don't know what her reaction would be.

"I'm not sure, it may effect her, it may not." I spoke quietly, glancing at the entrance of the tent to make sure Sakura hadn't come yet. I looked back to Kabuto as he began speaking again.

"Have you ever seen Sasuke?" I shook my head no. "Well, truthfully, Itachi and Sasuke look almost exactly the same. Itachi is obviously older and therefore looks more mature. Sasuke shows more emotions. Itachi is a tad taller. Itachi has longer hair. I know it sounds like a lot, but when you actually look at them, they look a lot alike, especially if you haven't met. Since Sakura doesn't remember-" I cut him off.

"She does remember him. She just has her real self locked away." He looked at me for a moment, contemplating, before he nodded and continued talking.

"Since Sakura isn't able to remember him" I nodded at his correction, he calmed me slightly. I doubted Sakura would ever forget that man on her own free will, and I wanted that to be known. "her mind seal might be broken if she see's him. Sudden seal breaks without being removed through jutsu are usually very painful and sometimes fatal."

I froze up a little at that bit of information. I had known that it could be painful, but not fatal. If this was true, I needed to get that seal off. I needed someone that specialized in mind jutsu's to take care of her, to get rid of her mind seal. Tsunade would be angry, but she would get over it.

I looked back into Kabuto's eyes. We stared at each other for a moment before he nodded. He understood what had to be done. Sure, Sakura was a fighter, but I didn't want to risk her dying. I promised that man, though not in words, seven years ago that I would protect her, keep her safe. We both turned to the front of the tent as Sakura walked in, closing the tent front behind her. I glanced back at Kabuto as we got ready for bed. We sealed the deal, I would take Sakura tonight to find someone.

* * *

I was still working on papers when a masked ANBU burst into the room. I looked up, growling, I hadn't slept a wink all night working. He hesitated a moment before getting straight to what he was sent here for.

"Hokage-sama, two Akatsuki members were spotted a couple miles south of the village. What should we do? We await your orders." I froze. _'Oh fuck, damn it! I didn't want those damn rumors to be true! Rumors are suppose to be just that, rumors! They aren't suppose to be lies!' _My thoughts went along this train of thought for a while before the ANBU slightly cleared his throat. I looked back up at him for a moment.

"Do you know who they are?" I asked as I stood and began walking around the room.

"We know one to be Kisame Hoshigake. The other is most likely his partner, Itachi Uchiha." I cursed a little under my breath as I picked up some weapons.

"I want you to get Anko, Gai, Yamato, Neji, Shikamaru, and Kurenai. Tell them to meet me at the south gates in five minutes. NOW!" The ANBU trembled a little before he disappeared with a nod and a puff of smoke. I quickly walked to my desk and opened top drawer. I was not willing to give up Sakura. I feared that was why the Uchiha was here, so I decided to give him the only picture I had of her. I growled slightly. I didn't want to give up the damn picture, but maybe he would be happy and leave.

I jumped out my window and ran to the south gates as fast as I could. I didn't stop as I saw the requested people at the gate and they understood. They fell into step with me and we ran in silence to the two large chakra signals waiting for us.

They were waiting for us, standing on the opposite side of a large clearing from us. Unfortunately, the ANBU was correct and we were indeed facing Kisame and Itachi. Kisame was grinning while Itachi watched me wearily, confused, and angry. I sighed. This was why I didn't want anyone to know I was Hokage. I sighed again and rubbed my temples.

"Hey, looky here, we got a blonde leader! Doesn't everyone realize blondes are dumb!" And he continued sniggering while red eyes bore into mine, that same expression rolling around inside them. I jumped into the trees and ordered the rest to go after Kisame. Itachi followed me. I ran a little way, away from the village, before stopping on a large tree. Itachi stopped on the same wide branch and looked at me, quite a bit of distance between us.

"Where is she? I told you not to bring her here." His anger began to take over, darkening his aura and he began to radiate bloodlust. I froze up a little. I didn't think he would be so angry with Sakura here. He spoke again before I could. "Where. Is. She?!" He took a few steps forward in anger.

"Look, calm down. We only just got here. And besides, she's on a mission right now." He seemed to calm for a moment before his anger returned, along with that stubborn little emotion I like to call determination. I groaned a little, wishing I had more sake.

"Where?" Now I was nervous. I knew I had three options. Tell him where she is, he gets Sakura killed, goes on a killing rampage, then kills himself from depression. Don't tell him, he kills me, finds out anyways, gets Sakura killed, goes on a killing rampage, and then kills himself from depression. Tell him I sealed Sakura's memories, he kills me, goes on a killing rampage and then kills himself from depression.

I sighed. No matter what I did, he was going to go on a killing rampage and kill himself. And I was sure no matter what Sakura was going to get killed. I sighed. Damn, what to do? I looked back into the red eyes before glancing back down again.

"Look, I want you to stay calm, got it?" I heard him growl lowly. Geez, was everyone getting bitten by werewolves? All we seem to do is growl. Finally, after he gave me a violent stare down, he nodded his compliance. "Ok, well, not that long ago, I had to-hey, don't give me the evil eye! It was completely necessary, she was going into depression and she was a risk to herself and others! Anyways, I had to seal her memories." I didn't get to go any farther. Itachi came at me with unimaginable speed and was holding me against the tree by the throat, choking me of my air supply. His aura was heavy with anger and bloodlust. I shivered and attempted to take in a breath, a futile conquest as the young man began to speak.

"Why? She did nothing!! All I asked of you was to keep her away from Konoha and to keep her safe! Instead, you take her here and send her on a mission with no memories. What the FUCK were you thinking?" His voice was low and I had to strain to hear him. He loosened his grip enough for me to breath and speak.

"Look, I had to seal her memories because of her depression. Even now she's depressed. I was worried she was going to attempt to kill herself. And besides, she has all of her fighting skills, her body remembered that. She's also with Kimimaro, I'm sure you remember him." I stopped struggling to observe him. He wasn't looking at me and his grip was just enough to hold me up. His eyes looked so dead, and sad. If he were a weaker man, I would say he was about to cry, but he wasn't. He looked back at me, his eyes showing guilt.

"Please, just tell me where she is, I want to see her." I was tempted to tell him, he looked so sad and old. I sighed. I couldn't risk it though. I looked into his eyes.

"I'm sorry, I can't tell you. But if you let me down and promise to leave with your partner, I'll give you a picture of her." He hesitated before letting go of my now bruised neck and stepped back. I rubbed said bruised neck as I reached into my pocket, pulling out a small picture. I looked at it once more, slightly guilty that I was giving him a picture while she was so bitter. I sighed, it would have to do. I looked back up to the Uchiha as he eyed the piece of paper in my hand slightly eager. I took one more glance at it before handing it over.

* * *

**A/N: Here it is. I hope you enjoyed!!**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto or its characters.**


	5. Chapter 5

I watched the blonde woman pull the picture from her pocket, the other hand rubbing her throat. I held no guilt for attacking her, she deserved it. I glared at her as she took her time. I wanted the picture! If she won't tell me where my little blossom is, I want to see her face and then I want to go find her. I want the picture! I want to see how much she has grown. Finally, the woman handed me the picture. As I looked down and studied my little blossoms face, my breath caught in my throat.

Her hair was long and tied back in a high ponytail on top of her head. Her hair was as pink as ever and it now had a slight wave to it. Her skin was a little more pale than when she was with me. Her eyes were green. She was wearing a black tank top and had a sword resting across her back, two red ribbons hanging down from it's handle. But I could still see the bitterness in her smile, the lifelessness in her eyes. She wasn't happy. She truly did look depressed.

How could I? She didn't look happy, she looked even worse than when I found her that last night in Konoha. I couldn't leave her with these people, I had to take her back. I had to bring life back into her eyes. I had to make her smile a true smile. I wanted my little blossom back. I looked back up to the blonde woman once more as I pinned her to the tree with my hand around her throat.

"I want her file. I want to know everything that has happened to her while I have been away. I want to speak with the boy, Kimimaro. I want to know where they are, who she is with, and what her mission is. If you don't do as I say I will act upon the threat I gave the Third Hokage when I disappeared. I want all of this in two hours. If I don't get it, people will pay. Including yourself. Now, go." I threw her away, letting go of her throat as I did so. She glared up at me and I allowed my Sharingan to swirl slowly. She glared once more before turning to the village and running off.

I turned back to where I left Kisame. I needed to get him so we could return to the village in a little while. I disappeared in a puff of smoke and reappeared at my partners side, his opponents breathing heavily on the other end of the clearing. I turned away from them and walked away. He understood, and with a last smirk at the Konoha Shinobi, turned and followed after me. They didn't follow us.

I walked a ways away before circling around the village and leaped up the mountain, Kisame right behind me. We finally reached the top, standing above the Hokage mountain. I sat down against a tree, one leg bent. Kisame settled in front of me, a grin on his face.

"So, what happened? Are we gonna have Saku-chan back?" I stayed silent, staring down at the photo in my hand. He seemed to see where my focus was directed and attempted to see what it was. I glanced up at him, considering, before I turned the picture and allowed him to see my little blossoms bitter smile. He grinned a moment before he frowned.

"Hey, why does she look so sad? I don't remember her being like that. What happened? Is she okay?" I remained silent for a moment, wanting to know the answers myself. Finally I sighed.

"I don't know, Kisame." He looked shocked at my admittance that I didn't know. On any other topic I'm sure he would have laughed, but considering we were speaking about Sakura, he just remained silent with a troubled look upon his face. I turned my dead eyes to look out over the village, wishing I had my sweet little blossom with me.

-(^.^)- Kimimaro's PoV

I shook Sakura's shoulder, kneeling beside her head as I looked out the tent. Kabuto was on watch right now, glancing around, making sure no one was awake. I looked back down to the girl as she groaned and rolled over onto her back. Her green eyes blinked up at me tiredly, confusion shining through up at me. I smiled, a finger over my lips to signal for silence, and motioned with my free hand for her to follow me. She did so completely silent, following me out of the tent and over to Kabuto.

The grey haired boy walked over to Sakura and pulled her into a large hug. She put her arms around him, waiting for him to be finished. They stayed like that for a while, his cheek rested on the top of her head. Finally, he seemed ready and pulled back from her. He crouched slightly to look her in the eyes. He spoke, and I barely caught what he said.

"You be careful, ok? We can't have Mister Red Eyes angry at us. And he'll want you to be safe, ok? I'll miss you, but it's time for you to go." She gave him a curious look before nodding and stepping back, allowing me to step forward. We locked our hands together, shook them, and then I stepped back. We kept eye contact the entire time.

We had grown close, becoming good friends. We had both become attached to Sakura and I told him about Itachi. We decided to call him Mister Red Eyes-come on, we were about eleven years old-when we were around Sakura. We didn't tell her who it was, knowing it may damage her because of the memory seal. We both thought of her as a sister, even now that we were both about seventeen years old.

I gave him one final nod before turning around and darting into the forest, Sakura right behind me. We traveled in silence, our steps not making a sound, our breathes nearly silent. We traveled in this manner for a few hours, the sun finally rising when I decided it was time to stop. She stayed silent as we sat down below a tree, waiting for me to speak.

"Sakura, we are visiting a very old friend of mine, he was very good at mind jutsu's. you see, when you were brought to us, you were very depressed. The man who left you, Mister Red Eyes, wanted you to be safe and he knew you would be in danger if you stayed with him. So he left you with us. Tsunade was worried about you, so she put a very powerful memory seal on you. Now, we are going to remove the seal. You aren't the same as you used to be, you aren't the same beautiful flower I loved as my sister. So now I am bringing the real you back. This is for your safety, Sasuke-san may cause it to break suddenly because of his resemblance to Mister Red Eyes. This would be painful and most likely fatal for you, and I refuse to allow that to happen."

She stayed silent, merely listening as I spoke. She looked confused, yet relieved. Maybe she realized something was wrong with her, but she didn't know what. Well, she would be the little flower again. She would return to Itachi-san. As much as I wished her to be my flower, she was not, she was Itachi-san's. I focused back on her as she began speaking.

"Who is Mister Red Eyes?" I winced slightly, of course that would be the question she would ask first.

"I can't tell you. I don't know how it will effect you. But trust me, he is your friend, he is your protector." She seemed to accept this. Her face scrunched up again.

"Why are we suddenly removing the mind seal? Wouldn't I be just as depressed as before?"

"Well, yes. But Mister Red Eyes told us to not bring you to Konoha, and I never planned for you to come here. I'm sure that he knows you were there and is now going to search you down and take you with him. I remembered when he left you with us. He seemed dead, he was so reluctant to leave you. And seeing as Tsunade disobeyed his only demand, he'll probably be crazy and in search of you." She seemed to accept this too.

"Kimi-kun, what do you mean when you say I'm different than I used to be?"

"Before the mind seal, you're favorite color was grey, now it's orange. You used to love dango, now you can't stand it. You hummed all the time, now you simply refuse to do it and hate when others hum. You see, you aren't the same. Mister Red Eyes will most likely go into depression seeing this, and I refuse to have you alone. You two are connected. I'm not sure how, but I don't think you two could survive if the other were dead."

She seemed shocked, but she accepted what I had to say. She stayed silent after that, contemplating what I had said. She stood silently with me as we set off for my friends home. Our steps were once more silent as we jumped through the trees.

-(^.^)- Itachi's PoV

The bell on my straw hat jingled slightly as I leaped through the Hokage window. Kisame landed beside me, a smirk on his face. I walked over to the Hokage. She kept her head down, pretending to write something. She pushed a folder towards me, which I picked up, and kept her head down as she spoke.

"I wrote everything in there. I don't want to talk to you, so leave my office." I looked down at her, a cold glare settling on my face as I contemplated her. I should kill her, she put Sakura in a position that could be painful to herself and she sealed her memories to where I may never be able to be with her. I may never be able to hold her, train her, listen to her. I shook my head and walked back to the window and leaped away, Kisame right behind me. I made my way back to the Hokage faces, making sure to stay out of sight.

Kisame resumed his position as I sat down in front of the tree, quickly opening the folder. I scanned through the report that was required by the village. I was proud, she had grown powerful and she remembered Sasori's chakra strings. I frowned at the mention of a blood line. I don't remember anything like that. And if she wasn't a Haruno, that means she lied to me…

My chest clenched and my throat tightened. My eyes widened as I gasped for breath. What's going on? My eyes burned and I felt liquid start to gather. Was I about to cry? I quickly regained control of myself and squeezed my eyes shut. I sighed when I had control and continued my search through Sakura's folder. Kisame stayed quiet and observed the expressions I allowed cross my face.

-(^.^)- Kimimaro's PoV

I stopped at a door and waited for the still silent Sakura to look up at me. She did so quickly, smiling slightly as she looked up at me. I smiled to for a moment. It was nice being able to be alone with her. My smile quickly disappeared. This would probably be one of our last times like this. I planned on taking her to find Itachi-san, they had been away from each other long enough. I shook my head as Sakura gave me a curious look.

"Sakura, this is my friends home, Konan. She lives here with her husband Pein. They are close to Mister Red Eyes, but I'm not sure if you've ever met either of them, so you should be fine. Konan is good with mind jutsu's. she will help me. I met her before I was with Tsunade, she raised me for a while. Anyways, let's do this quickly." She nodded, and with a determined look, we entered the building.

**A/N: ok, so after a long wait I have written another chapter. I hope you guys like this. Obviously I am not following the series and I know some people are not how they are suppose to be, but hey, my story. I can do what I like. Again, I hope you guys liked this!**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto or it's characters.**


	6. Chapter 6

I watched, worried of what would happen, as her eyes snapped open. She remained motionless as her eyes surveyed the room around her. Her body was still strapped tightly to the ground, the drawings for the mind release were still on the ground, their black ink glaring up. The two people behind me slowly inched out of the observing room, giving me time to watch, to gain enough confidence to walk into the room.

She slowly rose from the ground as she ascertained that the room was safe. Her hair hung in limp strands. She had been in the room for three days. She had not been washed and she had not eaten, she had been knocked out the entire time. I took a deep breath as I opened the door between our rooms.

Her head swiveled to stare at me, her gaze intense. I stood just inside the room, not moving. We stared, not a single word spoken nor a move made. Finally, after long intense moments, she took a step towards me, her eyes still not betraying her feelings or thoughts. I didn't know if she knew who I was. I waited until she stopped in front of me.

She stared for a long time, not making a move. I had a feeling she would stay this way if nothing was said or done. So, me being me, I opened my mouth.

"Sakura." Nothing. "Saku-chan." Still nothing. "Little flower?" Her eyes narrowed, as if she were trying to remember something. I was encouraged and spoke again, following the same line of direction. "Little flower, it's me, Kimi-kun." Her eyes widened slightly, as if she was stumbling across the memories. I reached forward and held her hands between mine.

Her breathing increased, almost as if she was about to hyperventilate. My face scrunched in worry, hoping that she hadn't been effected badly by the jutsu. After a few minutes, she stopped, her head bowed and her breathing quiet, she didn't move a muscle. After waiting with my breath baited, she looked up.

Her eyes were watery and swimming with emotion. She looked at me with such familiarity that I knew the jutsu had worked. She looked so sad, the same kind of depression she had when she was given to us. Her eyes no longer held the bitterness of having something kept from you. But now she looked betrayed.

"Why, Kimi-kun, why did you let her do it? How could you pretend like nothing was wrong, that nothing was different? Why?" I lowered my head to break the eye contact, but she wouldn't allow it. She pulled a hand free to lift my head, allowing her to see my own, matching watery eyes.

"You don't understand Little flower. It hurt me everyday to see someone else in your body. You were gone, you weren't my little flower anymore, not that you ever were. You see, I couldn't stand to look at you anymore, knowing you weren't the real you. So I decided to lift the jutsu on you, even if it meant you were going to hate me. I must bring you back to your Mr. Red Eyes." Her head tilted in confusion, though she looked much happier that she understood my reasoning for everything. "Yes, Itachi-san. I must bring you back to him. There hasn't been much heard from him ever since he left you with us. He needs you, just as much as you need him."

She smiled shyly up at me, as if she was having a hard time remembering how to smile. Yes, she must go back to Itachi-san, they need each other. And she will me much better off with them, no matter how bad the people they are. She loves them, they are her family. I nodded slightly to myself, it was time to go find them. Then me and Kabuto will go to Orochimaru.

"Kimi-kun, are you going to come with us also?" I looked back into her eyes. She looked so hopeful, or as hopeful as I could ever remember her being. I clenched my jaw slightly, not wanting to answer her, though from her expression she might already know my answer.

"No Little flower, I will help you find him, but then me and Kabuto must go to Orochimaru." Her eyes widened in shock.

"NO!" My eyes widened at the outburst. I had never heard her raise her voice before. Nor had I ever seen the panicked expression on her face. "He's an evil man. I remember when I was with Itachi that he was evil. He always looked at Itachi and me with these weird looks. He was always so touchy-feely with Itachi. You can't go to him, please, you can't!"

I saddened slightly before I answered her. "I must Little flower, we both have to. Trust me, nothing bad will happen, I promise. I will find you when I am done with him. Please believe me." my hands had found her shoulders and I was leaning down to be eye level. We stared into each others eyes, hers holding stubborness and mine holding determination.

Finally, she sighed and nodded, looking down at her feet. I lifted a hand and tilted her head back up, to look at me. "I promise Sakura, and you know I never break my promises." She sighed and nodded again, my hand still on her chin as I stood up to my full height. "Now, let's go find Konan and she'll tell us where he is, or where we can wait for him." She nodded once more, slight hope filling her eyes.

-(^.^)- Itachi's PoV

I was slowly jumping tree to tree, Kisame behind me. We had reached the area where Sakura's team was last dispatched, I was searching for any trace of her chakra. So far, we hadn't found hers or Kimmimaro's. we had only found her teams. I slowly moved my head side to side, my Sharingan blazing, when I felt the burning on my finger, signaling that Leader-sama wanted to speak to us. With a glance back at Kisame we stopped and sat, closing our eyes and opening the mind connection.

"_Itachi, Kisame, the two of you are to return immediately to the base." I growled slightly, like hell I was. I wasn't coming back until I found Sakura. The leader turned his head to look at me._

"_Yes Itachi, you are to come back. No exceptions. I will allow you to leave once you are done here." With a heavy sigh, knowing I didn't really have any choice other than to go back to the base, I nodded. The leader seemed pleased, and with a final nod to us, the connection was broken._

By the time Kisame opened his eyes, I was already running in the direction of the base. I was pissed beyond belief. I had to find Sakura! Why doesn't he understand this? I've waited for about seven years, I had to be with her again! I growled slightly to myself, ignoring Kisame's yells of outrage. How dare he, this is the only thing I have asked him for. He has no right to deny me! I sighed, and with dead eyes, continued on, still ignoring Kisame whom eventually understood the message.

-(^.^)-

I stalked through the base, up to the leaders office. Kisame followed behind me, still not speaking, afraid of the blood thirsty aura around me. I wanted to get this meeting over with so that I could continue my search for Sakura. Oh Sakura, I'm so sorry. I never wanted to leave you, but I had to. You would have died if you stayed with me! I sighed, and after putting my cold mask back on my face, opened the door.

And nearly fainted. My mask slipped away to show my shock. The hope and life in my eyes grew. My hand fell slack on the door handle. I couldn't move or breath. I felt as if I had been punched, but I didn't care, I was happy. So happy. Finally, I took a step forward before falling back, my arms wrapped tightly around the body hugging me.

**A/N: Ok, here is the next chapter. I know it's been a very long time, but I finally finished writing this chapter. I hope everyone enjoyed!**


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